Former for moulding garments

ABSTRACT

A former for moulding a fabric garment shape having chest, hip and waist planes corresponding to a person&#39;&#39;s body, said former comprising a number of members interconnected and arranged about an imaginary common axis such that at least four of said members define a quadrilateral at the chest plane, at least six of said members define a hexagon at the hip plane, and at least four members define a geometrical figure selected from the group consisting of a quadrilateral, pentagon and hexagon at the waist plane.

O Unlted States Patent 1 1 [111 3,866,807 Parr Feb. 18, 1975 [54] FORMER FOR MOULDING GARMENTS 991,210 5/1911 Kearns t. 223/68 1 [75] Inventor: William Geoffrey Parr, Pontypool, Rae 223/68 X England Primary ExaminerGeo. V. Larkin 22 Filed; Man 8, 1974 Attorney, Agent, or FirmCushman, Darby &

Cushman [21] Appl. No.: 449,558

[57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data A former for moulding a fabric garment shape having Mar, 20, 1973 Great Britain 13301/73 chest, ip n ai t planes corresponding to a persons body, said former comprising a number of mem- 1 52] [1.5. CI. 223/68 bers n r nn and arranged about an imaginary [51] Int. Cl A4lh 5/00 Common axis such that at l s four of said members [58] Fi ld at Se rch 223/66, 68, 61, 72, 73 define a quadrilateral at the chest plane, at least six of said members define a hexagon at the hip plane, and [56] R fe en e Cit d at least four members define a geometrical figure se- UNITED STATES PATENTS lected from the group consisting of a quadrilateral, 579 600 1/1894 Cook 223/63 pentagon and hexagon at the waist plane.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENIED FEB l 8 I975 sum 10F 4 yyxamau ww 3,866 807 sumaora Y FIG.2 I I FIIG.3

PME FEBI 8 1975 saw a or va oarss WAIST LEVEL 8 NATURAL wmsr LEVEL FIG .4

1 FORMER FOR MOULDING GARMENTS The present invention relates to formers for moulding a garment shape from fabric.

By the term garment shape is meant a length of fabric which has been shaped to fit at least a portion of a persons body, and which may with or without further processing, for example such as the addition of sleeves, collars and motifs, be used as an article of apparel.

it is known to mould garments on formers which have the configuration of an individual person (for example a lay figure), but such a process has the disadvantage that large numbers of formers are required to produce a wide range of sizes and styles. The present invention seeks to provide a simple former which can be readily adjusted for the moulding of garment shapes in a wide range of sizes and styles.

According to the present invention a former for moulding a garment shape from a fabric comprises not less than four interconnected members arranged about an imaginary axis, said members being adjustable to define in a series of planes transverse to said axis a series of cross-sectional shapes having substantially the same peripheral length as the peripheral length of fabric constituting a garment in the corresponding plane.

The former of this invention is very suitable for moulding a garment shape from a fabric preform, normally tubular in shape, for conversion into an article of apparel for the upper parts of of the body covering the chest, and waist, and particularly dresses. Garment shapes moulded on the former for the upper parts of the body may also form part of articles of apparel for the upper and lower parts of the body, for example, such as by the attachment of a skirt or trouser section.

The members may be solid or hollow in construction, and of any convenient cross-section and preferably they should have no sharp projections which could make contact with a fabric preform placed on the former. They may be formed from partially curved plate, the degree of curvature possibly varying along the length of the member, but more conveniently they may be formed from a rod or tube having a circular cross section with a radius of at least half of 1 inch. Formers made from members of vry large cross-section will have restricted use, being unsuitable for the production of garment shapes of small size. Generally the members are rigid in order to withstand any stresses produced during the moulding of the garment shape.

For convenience, the lower ends of the members may be adjustably mounted on a base, and preferably the members are terminated by ball and socket joints which engage in holes in a perforated base. The upper ends of the members may be terminated by hemispheres or other smooth shapes. Advantageously, the upper ends of some of the members may be terminated by shapes which serve as locations for fairings to constrain a garment preform stretched on the former, particularly at the bust position. Desirably the shapes should have a smooth, curved surface,,the curvature continuing beyond the point where a preform ceases to make contact with the shape.

Some of the members may pass between other members so that portions of their length are within the periphery defined by the remaining members. At least some of the members may also be adjustably mounted along their length to a pillar which is also mounted at one end on the base, the pillar at its other end optionally supporting shoulder forming elements, for example, such as tubes of wider cross-section than the members.

The members of the former may show a tendency to rotate about their own axis, and this may be overcome by fitting an anti-rotation device between two or more members.

lt has been found that when the former of the present invention is used for producing dresses and the like, the members are desirably positioned so that their axes define essentially a quadrilateral at the bust or chest plane, a quadrilateral, pentagon, or hexagon at the waist plane, and a hexagon at the hip plane. Preferably the various shapes are substantially symmetrical about their fore and aft axes.

A particularly suitable former for moulding garment shapes from fabric preforms for conversion into articles of apparel for the upper part of the female body com prises two front tubes, two back tubes and two side tubes mounted on a base and two shoulder tubes attached to a pillar mounted on the same base. The upper ends of the back tubes are just below the shoulder tubes and the tubes are of sufficient length to extend below the bottom hem level ofa fabric preform to be moulded when placed upon the former. The front tubes are shorter than the back tubes so that their upper portions are below those of the back tubes, and the sides tubes at their upper portions pass between the front and back tubes some distance below the top of the front tubes in the vicinity of the required waist level. The upper portions of the front and back tubes are shaped according to anthropometric data such as that given in Womens Measurements and Sizes" published by H. M. Stationery Office, 1957 so that the bust, waist and hip sections of the former are reasonably correctly positioned relatively to each other. The shoulder tubes are attached to the pillar so that their height and angle with respect to the base can be adjusted.

To facilitate the placing of a fabric preform on the former ready for moulding, part of the former may be collapsible. Any mechanism allowing the collapse of part of the former as well as allowing the tubes to be readily adjustable relative one to another should be located within the framework formed by the tubes or below the hem level and in no way affect the outline of the preform placed on the former.

The correct adjustment of the former to mould a garment shape for a particular subject requires various measurements of the body to be made and then the adjustment of the spacing of the tubes at the bust/chest, hips, and waist levels according to the measurements in combination with ease allowances", the latter being necessary to produce a comfortably fitting garment. In addition, the adjustment of the former may be modified to take into account any particular fashion required.

A preform is prepared to preform being a length of fabric having a shape approximating to that of the garment shape required and in a state ready for molding on a former. For a dress it may simply be a shaped tube of fabric sewn at the upper end but with arm and neck holes. More complex preforms may be used having, for example, attached sleeves and a front, rear, or side opening closed by a zip fastener, buttons, or snap fasteners. Where the preform has an opening closed by buttons or snap fasteners it is desirable to temporarily seam the opening to prevent gaping when stretched on the former. The preform may be directly knitted or woven into shape, or may be produced by cutting and sewing knitted, woven, or non-woven fabric. The preform is then placed on the former which, as indicated, may be in a collapsed form, the preform deformed to the required shape by adjustment of the former, care being taken to ensure that it is positioned correctly and free from wrinkles, and subsequently set so that the preform retains its required dimensions on removal from the former.

According to a further aspect of the invention a method for moulding a garment shape from fabric com prises preparing a preform, deforming it three dimensionally on a former which comprises not less than four interconnected members arranged about a common axis, said members being adjustable to define in a series of planes transverse to said axis a series of cross sectional shapes having substantially the same peripheral length as the peripheral length of fabric constituting a garment in the corresponding plane, setting the deformed preform so that on removal from the former it retains its deformed dimensions, and removing the garment shape from the former.

Fabrics suitable for making a preform include woven, knitted, and non-woven fabrics made from thermoplastic fibres, e.g. from nylonv polyesters, or acrylic based polymers, from nonthermoplastic fibres, e.g. cotton and wool, or even a combination of the two types of fibres. Other suitable fabrics include coated fabrics and sheet material provided, of course, that the material can be deformed and set. The construction of the fabric should be such so that it can be deformed but without undue damage. Preferably the deformation is by shear distortion rather than by stretch.

Setting of the preform on the former may be by any process, either chemical or physical, which modifies the fabric so that it essentially retains its dimensions when removed from the former. The fabric should substantially retain its moulded dimensions during subsequent further processing and use, including laundering. Heating below the melting temperature is a very suitable means of setting preforms from fabrics made from thermoplastic fibres and where the fabric contains polyester filaments the heating should be to a temperature at least equal to the second order transition temperature (Tg) of the polyester filaments. Chemical means of setting include the application of resinous material, for example, those well known in the textile trade for producing crease-resist fabrics, or breaking and reforming chemical bonds within the fibres, for example, by the use of well known chemicals used for the permanent pleating of woollen articles.

For a better understanding of the invention one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a former for moulding a garment shape suitable for a dress.

FIG. la is a sectional view of a modification of an upper end of a front member showing a bust fairing.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrammatic representations of the body measurements used for the adjustment of the former of FIG. 1 to a particular subjects requirements.

FIG. 4 shows how the measurements of FIGS. 3 and 4 are used to adjust the former of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows a bodice portion ofa panel used in making a preform for moulding on the former of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 shows a former suitable for the moulding of a garment shape to be used in the manufacture of a dress comprising two front tubes 1 and 2, two back tubes 3 and 4 and two side tubes 5 and 6 arranged around a common axis (not shown). The curvatures of the upper portions of the front and back tubes are such as to give good bust, waist and hip cross-sections for a wide range of female figures, and may be calculated using the data quoted in Womens Measurement and Sizes" published by H. M. Stationery Office.

The front tubes are adjustably interconnected by a tie assembly 7 having left and right handed threaded rods connected together through a universal joint and their upper ends are terminated by hemispheres 8. Similarly the back tubes are adjustably interconnected by a tie assembly 9, and the front tubes are adjustably interconnected to the back tubes by tie assemblies 10. The lower ends of the front and back tubes are hemispherical and rest in spherical cups 11 which are slidably mounted on a base 12. Also mounted on the base is an angled pillar 13 to which are adjustably mounted via the connecting struts 14 the side tubes 5 and 6. The latter, like the front and back tubes, have hemispherical ends resting in spherical cups 15 which are slidably mounted on the base 12. The tensioned springs 16 attached to bracket 17 help to locate the position of the front tubes on the base, and similarly springs 18 and 19 help to locate the position of the back tubes and side tubes, respectively. Adjustably mounted at the upper end of the pillar 13 are two shoulder tubes 20 whose angle and height with respect to the base 12 can be altered. Rotation of the tubes about their own axis is pre vented by an anti-rotation device which is formed by welding a separate boss 33 to each back tube 3, 4 and linking each boss to an anchor block 32 via a U-link 34. The front and back tubes are so positioned that their axes define a quadrilateral at the bust level (cross section A of the former) and the axes of the front, back, and side tubes define hexagons at the waist and hip levels (cross sections B and C, respectively), all the shapes being symmetrical about the fore and aft centre line.

The spacings of the tubes 14 at bust and hip levels together with their curvature and orientation determine the circumference/height relationship down to the vicinity of the waist, whilst these spacings together with the curvature and orientation of the tubes 14 and the curvature and position of the side tubes 5 and 6 determine the circumference/height relationship below the vicinity of the waist. Adjustment of the waist posi tion to suit figure or style is made by changing the height at which the side tubes pass between the front and back tubes.

To improve the shaping of the bust, the upper ends of front tubes 2, 3 may be modified to incorporate a bust fairing as shown in FIG. 1a in which a spherical component 21 is secured to a front tube by screw 29 engaging cross member 24. A cylinder 22 is held in contact with the sphere by the tension spring 27 which is anchored to cross members 24, 28. Links 25, 26 facilitate holding the cylinder 22 in the required position. A thin sleeve 23 serves to provide tangential conditions where the cylinder meets the spherical component 21.

One way of using the former of FIG. I for moulding a garment shape suitable for conversion into a dress will now be described. Firstly, the following measurements are made of the subject's body, the numbers referring to the items of FIGS. 2 and 4.

Bust circumference Circumference 7 inches below waist roughly at hip level The measurements 106 to 109 are taken with the aid of a waist belt about half an inch wide which is drawn fairly tight, jiggled to find the natural waist position, then tightened firmly. A measuring tape hooks onto the belt, the zero of the tape being located on the centre line of the belt. The over shoulder measurements 107 and 109 are clearly shown by the scale readings against the belt centre-line, the shoulder position for measurement 107 being found by sliding the tape inwards along the shoulder as far as possible. The tape runs from a belt position directly below the breast, over the maximum breast fullness and the shoulder to the centre back waist. For measurement 109, the tape runs over the point where the outer shoulder starts to fall away. Measurement 108 is made whilst the tape is in position for measurement 107, and measurement 110 is the distance along the shoulders between the tape positions for measurements 107 and 109.

The following is a description of how the former is adjusted according to the above measurements in conjunction with ease allowances (to give the final garment a comfortable fit), for a former constructed from hollow circular tubing of inch radius. Where appropriate measurements are from a horizontal datum plane (section A of FIGS. 1 and 4) through the centres of the hemispheres of the front tubes, which is taken to be half an inch below the bust level. The following measurements of the former refer to those shown in FIG. 4

and where appropriate the spacing between tubes is from centre to centre.

At datum level A (21) Front tube centre spacing Breast separation (measurement l03) plus inch.

(22) Back tube centre spacing Across back (measurement I05) minus 3 inches.

(23) Front to back tube spacingz- Chosen to give wrap circumference on tubes equal to bust circumference plus 2 inches.

(24) Front to back tube spacing 1.} X

spacing 23. (25) Wrap circumference of all tubes measurement H l plus 3 inches.

At dress waist level B, (which is half an inch above natural waist level, and is at a distance below datum level A equal to: Bust to waist measurement (measurement 108) minus one inch)..

(26) Back tube spacing Front tube spacing (27) plus 1 inch.

Wrap circumference on tubes Waist circumference (measurement 102) plus 3 inches.

The tops of the back tubes are just behind the shoulder tubes, and the shoulder tubes are adjusted to give:

The side tubes are adjusted to start projecting beyond the back and front tube one-fourth inch above the dress waist level.

A preform is made from fabric for moulding on the former by sewing together a front and back panel. If the across chest measurement 104 exceeds the across back measurement 105 by more than half of 1 inch, the back panel can be made to the same pattern as the front panel provided that a zip fastener is inserted into the back panel and the turning allowance for the zip fastener is chosen to reduce the distance between the armholes to that of measurement 105. FIG. 5 shows half of the bodice portion of a pattern for a panel, seams not being included. The width of the panel near the waist level is equal to half themoulding former wrap circumference at the same level so that, with the zip inserted in the back panel with a seam allowance of inch, the preform is about la-inch tight in the waist area when on the former. The straight pattern edge between the waist region and the armhole is the tangent to the waist region which gives the correct half width at datum level.

The final circumference of the hem portion of the preform is about l /z inches less than that of the corresponding section of the former for neatness and to simplify downward tensioning on the former.

The bottom of the armhole curve is perpendicular to the pattern edge, the bottom radius, based on average armhole width for women with the subjects bust and hip measurements as given in Womens Measurement and Sizes published by H. M. Stationery Office, 1957, changing gradually to bring the curve vertical at about half armhole height and perpendicular to the shoulder line at the top.

The measurements of the panel as shown in FIG. 5 are as follows: 1

(40) PIS where P is the standard dress making (41 P/4 -Continued (45) A: (Measurement A inch) (46) PM 3,3 inches (47) /4 (Measurements I04 lOS inch) (48) V4 (Measurement 101 2% inches) (49) Measurement 108 A preform was produced from a fairly stiff warp knit sharkskin fabric of false twist polyester filament yarn/- nylon jaspe. Such a fabric had little stretch in the warp direct, some more in the weft direction, but was shear deformed fairly easily.

The panels of the fabric were seamed together by sewing with the insertion of a zip fastener and then the preform was fitted over the former and the zip fastener closed, Care was taken to ensure that any seams in the preform were in the correct place and tension was applied to remove any wrinkles in the fabric. The fabric of the preform was then ready for setting by heating in steam for 2 minutes at 40 psi. gauge after which the thus produced garment shape was removed from the former and finished by addition of sleeves, collar, etc.

What we claim is:

l. A former for moulding a fabric garment shape having chest, hip and waist planes corresponding to a persons body, said former comprising a number of members interconnected and arranged about an imaginary common axis such that at least four of said members define a quadrilateral at the chest plane, at least six of said members define a hexagon at the hip plane, and at least four members define a geometrical figure selected from the group consisting of a quadrilateral, pentagon and hexagon at the waist plane.

2. A former according to claim 1 comprising a first set of at least four interconnected members and a second set of at least two members, the said first set of members extending substantially along the whole length of the former and the second second set of members extending along only part of the length of the former and having portions of their length within the periphery defined by the first set of members.

3. A former according to claim 1 having a pillar to which at least some of the said members are mounted along their length.

4. A former according to claim 3 having a shoulder forming member supported by the said pillar.

5. A former according to claim 4 wherein the said members and pillar are adjustably mounted on a base.

6. A former according to claim 1 wherein some ofthe members support bust fairings.

7. A former according to claim 1 wherein at least part of the former is collapsible.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF G CORRECTION PATENT N0. 3,866,807 DATED February 975 INVENTOR(S) William G. PARR It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below;

On the front page format, after paragraph "[75]", insert: "[73] snee: Imperial Chemical, Industries Limited,

London, England-- Col. 1, line 130, delete "it" and insert --It-- 001. 1, line Mr, delete "vry" and insert --very-- Col. 2, line 56, delete "to" and insert 8,--

Signed and sealed this 1st: day of July 1.975.

suns) Attest:

C. 2-2; 18 ALL DANDY RUTH C. iii-L307? Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer and Trademarks 

1. A former for moulding a fabric garment shape having chest, hip and waist planes corresponding to a person''s body, said former comprising a number of members interconnected and arranged about an imaginary common axis such that at least four of said members define a quadrilateral at the chest plane, at least six of said members define a hexagon at the hip plane, and at least four members define a geometrical figure selected from the group consisting of a quadrilateral, pentagon and hexagon at the waist plane.
 2. A former according to claim 1 comprising a first set of at least four interconnected members and a second set of at least two members, the said first set of members extending substantially along the whole length of the former and the second second set of members extending along only part of the length of the former and having portions of their length within the periphery defined by the first set of members.
 3. A former according to claim 1 having a pillar to which at least some of the said members are mounted along their length.
 4. A former according to claim 3 having a shoulder forming member supported by the said pillar.
 5. A former according to claim 4 wherein the said members and pillar are adjustably mounted on a base.
 6. A former according to claim 1 wherein some of the members support bust fairings.
 7. A former according to claim 1 wherein at least part of the former is collapsible. 